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Play Days

Sometimes in life we need a change of scenery. Just a few days off to break out of the mold of the everyday routine and mix it up a little. It keeps the interest and the passion for life going strong. It promotes curiosity and staves off boredom and reminds me again and again how beautiful this world is and how blessed I am to be in it.

When I take the time to lift my head and do something out of the ordinary — even if it’s relatively small — I’m so glad I did, after the fact. It may seem inconvenient or expensive or really bad timing, but the little jaunts we’ve taken as a family have made some incredible memories. And some of the best things don’t have to cost a lot of money, or in fact, can even be free.

This past week, we celebrated Easter and enjoyed some time off of school, thanks to Spring Break, and visited the beach at the Santa Monica Pier. We soaked up the party vibe at a street festival in Santa Clarita and watched the Blues Brothers perform in Bakersfield. I photographed an artist at work, carousel horses, bright Easter flowers, and dozens of small aircraft at a Fly-In at the Mojave Airport. Here in our local town, we attended a concert fundraiser for a friend of ours who has big plans to go to Mexico this summer.

All told, it was a week of refreshment and of renewed perspective of this grand expedition on planet Earth. It was a vivid and glorious reminder that life is what happens, whether or not we plan for it, and it is up to us to decide how we’ll live it and what our stories will be when we are nearing the end.

I am a firm believer in responsibility, in being dependable for the people I love; and I believe just as strongly that if I don’t take the time to step back and gain a bigger picture of why I live and what I’m living for, I will one day reach the end of my life and wonder if it was all worth it. The occasional days that come along where I am able to breathe deeply and take an adventure and wander off the beaten path are the spice of life. They create the memories that make up the stories that leave an impact on the next generation. They keep one young and healthy and engaged in living well with purpose and intentionality. They are the play days, and they are vital to making a good life.

If you’re able to pull off a spur of the moment get-away, then what are you waiting for? Stop reading about me, and go! If you’re a highly organized individual and can’t handle spontaneity, pencil in a date today for some time in the near future to have an adventure of your own. You’ll come back to your day job, revived and recharged, with a new attitude, new curiosity, and new zest for making each moment count.

Because no matter how old we get, we should never outgrow the play days.

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2 thoughts on “Play Days”

This is so very true! My job can be very demanding and after getting an unexpected promotion I felt even more overwhelmed. One weekend, I just felt the need to get away from it all … and I did. It was amazingly refreshing to spend some time among nature with a very good friend. I even shared a few pics on my blog (http://tinyurl.com/n8e7btw) because it’s the small refreshing moments that contribute to the bigger picture of ourselves in the various roles we play. Thanks for sharing; glad you had an enjoyable and meaningful Easter, as did I (more photos on that to follow eventually as well) 🙂